WASHINGTON — Arrests for illegal border crossings from Mexico reached a record high in December since monthly figures were released, authorities said Friday, exposing a growing vulnerability for President Joe Biden as he campaigns for a second term.
Border Patrol counted 249,785 apprehensions at the Mexican border in December, up 31% from 191,112 in November and up 13% from 222,018 in December 2022, the previous record high.
Arrests fell by more than half in the first two weeks of January, “consistent with historical trends and improved enforcement,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement. CBP previously said the crackdown by Mexican authorities contributed to the January decline.
Mexicans were responsible for 56,236 arrests in December, while Venezuelans were second with 46,937, reversing much of the decline that followed the start of deportation flights to Venezuela in October. Arrests of Guatemalans increased, with Hondurans and Colombians rounding out the top five nationalities.
Tucson, Arizona, was once again the busiest corridor for illegal crossings between nine sectors of the Mexican border, with 80,185 apprehensions. Del Rio, Texas, the focus of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s enforcement efforts, ranked second with 71,095 arrests. San Diego, where nearly 6,000 Chinese were arrested, was a distant third.
Including migrants allowed into the United States through new or expanded legal pathways, the number of encounters with migrants totaled 302,034, surpassing 300,000 for the first time and breaking the previous record of 269,735 in September. U.S. authorities allowed 45,770 people into land crossings with Mexico in December through an online appointment system called CBP One, bringing the total to more than 413,000 since it was introduced a year ago.
The administration’s broad use of parole to allow migrants into the country has been a major sticking point in Senate negotiations over border security.